I’ve always been fascinated by rock pools, especially as a child. I think its because they are small and close up enough for a child to relate to, like a little microcosm of the under sea world. They also have that mystical feel about them. A world in miniature where you might find mermaids or monsters in the dark corners and crannys. Most of all they have an appeal because kids simply like poking around in places that seem forbidden, curious as to what might lurk within. On the weekend I was dropped off on some rocks at a special picnic spot in the Royal while the tinny went back to fetch the rest of the family. This gave me fifteen minutes of blissful solitude, fossicking around on the shore looking for something interesting. I came across these perfectlly square little pot holes, obviously carved out by man a long time ago as footings for some kind of mooring or wharf side structure, now long rotten away. Since then marine life has moved in and I was delighted to see that a number of little crabs, of different colours and sizes had made these potholes their home. I was as excited at this gorgeous little “mini aquarium” as I would have been twenty years ago as a child. How many crabs can you see?

Smiling Assasin?

After this I scrambled up the rocks and had a wander into the bush where I saw a few more less obvious signs of life. Any chance of mammalian sightings probably blown away by the weekend river boating traffic or passing bushwalkers. However, what I did see will bring me back at a quieter time to try my luck at meeting the animal responsible for the cube shaped droppings pictured below. Answers on a postcard for a trip in the tinny!